<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>her eyes, they shimmer like the sea by fthh</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23463004">her eyes, they shimmer like the sea</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/fthh/pseuds/fthh'>fthh</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, F/F, mermaid dorothea</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 15:55:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,522</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23463004</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/fthh/pseuds/fthh</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A story of the royal princess and the mermaid.</p><p>Doropetra Week, Days 6 &amp; 7: Fairy tale AU &amp; Magic</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dorothea Arnault/Petra Macneary</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Doropetra Week 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>her eyes, they shimmer like the sea</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>something that's been in the works since about last month, the second chapter will (hopefully) be up tomorrow!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The royal princess of Brigid comes back for three moons every year. She’s always welcomed with much fanfare; after all, she is to become queen in a few years. This year is special: the Imperial Princess Edelgard has sent her home with her close friend Bernadetta.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They spend much of their time together: Petra takes Bernadetta around the island to see the flora of her homeland. Bernadetta is nothing short of astonished to see the abundance of carnivorous plants in the lush forests and the different kinds of seaweed Petra picks out when she comes up to shore.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She’s watching the sunset with Bernadetta and a few attendants at the beach today. The sun is setting at the horizon, painting the sky a saturated orange, leaving behind a trail of darkness. The sea, far along the distance, reflects the colour of the sky. Petra has missed the beach: she lives in the very heart of Enbarr, landlocked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>(The Imperial Princess Edelgard and her entourage treat her kindly, but of course, there is no place like home.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Petra lies down fully on her back, doesn’t mind letting the sand get into her clothes. These small inconveniences are ones she can easily wash away later at the palace; a small price to pay to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>home</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Bernadetta has her sketchbook out, and she draws Petra’s small figure against the vast ocean.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They fall into an easy silence, with Petra’s attendants chatting a fair distance away from them. Petra and Bernadetta have an effortless camaraderie about them; they were essentially brought together in Garreg Mach against their wishes. They understand each other, now, but Bernadetta’s past anxiety around her friends had made Petra want to protect her all the more.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Petra is lost in thought again, as she is wont to do lately. It’s getting worse as she has just had her twenty-first birthday just a week into her arrival home. It’s a reminder that she’s getting old and in a few years her grandfather will grow frail and grey and she’ll inherit the throne.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>… She’s going to have to produce an heir.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>… She’s going to have to marry a </span>
  <em>
    <span>man.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She loves her country, she really does, but as the only heir to the throne, there’s a lot of expectations she has to shoulder. And it’s terrifying.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her friend Linhardt has made some headway in researching magical reproduction (because, surprise of all surprises, she and Edelgard are birds of the same feather), but of course, that’s a long ways away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>(Her thoughts drift to Edelgard. She’s promised that there are a few years left still in her preparations before the Adrestian Empire can declare war on the church. All the same, the passage of time only serves to remind her of her own mortality.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Petra listens as the sea speaks in waves crashing onto the shore. She listens to a language she has long been fluent in but has grown rusty from all that time apart. She inhales the scent of wet sand, salt, and seaweed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Petra looks at Bernadetta. “I would like to be taking you to the art emporium tomorrow. I am knowing they make inks from local dyes.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bernadetta looks up, and her smile reaches her eyes. “I’d like that!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Petra sits up, hugging her knees to herself. “Bernadetta,” she starts, and there is curiosity in her voice. She points to an incoming wave, bringing with it a figure she can’t quite name. “Do you see that, over there?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is that a—” Bernadetta can’t continue: she doesn’t know </span>
  <em>
    <span>how </span>
  </em>
  <span>to continue. The two of them run to the shore, meeting the wave. Petra waves at her attendants to come too.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s… an unconscious woman. At least, the top half. The bottom half is a fish tail. The four of them tilt their heads in wonder. How did such a creature wash up on a Brigid shore?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Petra’s eyes rake over the mermaid’s form, and finds her full of cuts and bruises, with one long gash on the side of her arm all the way towards her elbow. Petra winces; that can’t be good.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The four of them heave the mermaid further into the shore. Petra presses an ear to the mermaid’s chest, and is relieved to hear a steady heartbeat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They all stand there, surrounding the mermaid, unsure.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“We shall bring her to the palace,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Petra says resolutely, facing her attendants. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“We shall have the healers tend to her.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Your Highness, are you sure His Majesty will approve of this?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I am certain my grandfather will extend hospitality to individuals in need, especially to a legendary creature such as a mermaid.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Whatever the attendant has to say dies away as they are interrupted by the mermaid waking up with a violent cough. Immediately Petra holds her upright, patting her back as she coughs out water out of her lungs.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The mermaid looks around, when she calms down from her fit. She looks like a mouse, just about ready to scurry away at the curious looks she’s receiving.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“We mean no harm,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Petra says, reaching out to the mermaid’s arm to comfort her, but she winces at the touch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That hurts…” she grumbles.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“She speaks the Fódlan tongue!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Petra, I could understand her!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I, um, Miss…” Petra addresses the mermaid. “We would like to bring you to the healers, if that is okay with you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The mermaid smiles sheepishly at her. She has shiny green eyes, Petra notices. They remind her of the jade on her grandfather’s amulets. Her wet hair is a beautiful chestnut brown, and… Petra realises her mind has drifted. She has more pressing matters to attend to than to wonder about the beauty of the mermaid—</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My body’s too weak to perform any magic right now, I’m so sorry,” she looks at Petra. “I hate to ask, but… could a healer just come to me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can carry you,” Petra says, chipper. “I would like to provide shelter, as well, until you are better.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>(Petra can sense Bernadetta giving her a </span>
  <em>
    <span>look </span>
  </em>
  <span>out of the corner of her eye, but thankfully says nothing.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Petra slides a hand under the mermaid’s tail and another on her back, and lifts her easily, her muscles accustomed to years of heavy strain, and they make their way to the palace.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Petra,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>His Majesty Macneary’s voice booms from the infirmary entrance. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Your attendants told me you brought something home, but I did not realise it was actually a someone.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>He pinches the bridge of his nose, unable to say anything else.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“She was injured,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Petra says as explanation. He doesn’t need to hear more.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I don’t necessarily approve of this, but I trust your judgement, dearest,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>he says, placing a hand on his granddaughter’s shoulder in reassurance. That, at least, makes Petra smile. She looks back at the mermaid, now sleeping soundly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“The healers said she lost consciousness from the shock, but she will be alright,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>she says. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“I shall wait until she wakes up.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Very well, my heart.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And with that Petra is alone again, accompanied by the soft breathing of the half-woman on the bed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The mermaid rouses with a start, and jolts into a sitting position. “Wha—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Petra startles awake, rubbing sleep away from her eyes. “Oh, you are awake.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where am I? Who are you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You are in the palace infirmary. My name is Petra. What is yours?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My name is… Dorothea,” she says, eyeing the other girl carefully, making out her surroundings. “You brought me here?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes. My friend and I found you washed up on the shore…” Petra looks outside. The sun is rising, now, and she makes a note of how particularly beautiful it is today. “— Yesterday afternoon.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh dear, my friends must be worried about me now.” Dorothea moves, dangles her tail off the bed. With a flick of her wrist, her tail disappears and is replaced by human legs. She jumps off the bed, but her knees give out and Petra reaches out to steady her on her feet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I— thank you, Petra.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It is not a problem.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They’re so close now: Petra could count the lashes on her eyes, if she wanted to. The green of her eyes is clearer, today, and they have a brightness about them that hides behind it stories she wants to know, wants to ask Dorothea about.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Please, Dorothea, you are welcome to stay here until you are well.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dorothea lies back down on the bed, now self-conscious about the nudity of her bottom half. “Do you, um—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Petra rummages through a nearby cupboard for a robe, and hands one to Dorothea. She notices the cuts and bruises on Dorothea’s legs, wonders how long the healing process will take. She turns away, then, to give Dorothea her privacy. There’s a deep crimson blush creeping onto her face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dorothea,” she says, proud that her voice wavers only a </span>
  <em>
    <span>tiny</span>
  </em>
  <span> bit, “I must insist you stay at the palace until you are fully healed.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well,” Dorothea says as Petra turns to her again, winks. “I’ve never been one to say no to pretty girls.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This is going to be trouble.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>